Changing beliefs and behavior through experience-taking.
Level 2 - randomized trial
Series of six controlled experimental laboratory studies
PubMed 22448888 · doi:10.1037/a0027525
What was done
Six experimental studies examined "experience-taking," defined as spontaneously assuming a character's identity, thoughts, and traits during reading. The authors manipulated readers' psychological states (heightened versus reduced self-concept accessibility) and narrative features (first-person versus third-person perspective; ingroup versus outgroup protagonist; early versus delayed revelation of a character's outgroup identity as homosexual or African American) to evaluate effects on experience-taking, self-concept incorporation, outgroup stereotyping, and behavior.
What was found
The abstract reports directional findings across all six studies without numerical data, effect sizes, or p-values: - Reduced self-concept accessibility increased experience-taking and character trait incorporation into self-concept, whereas heightened self-accessibility decreased both. - First-person narratives with an ingroup protagonist elicited the highest experience-taking and largest behavioral changes compared to third-person or outgroup narratives. - Disclosing outgroup status early in a narrative suppressed experience-taking; delaying this revelation increased experience-taking, reduced stereotyping in character evaluations, and produced more favorable attitudes toward the character's social group.
Why it matters
This research defines experience-taking as a psychological pathway for self-other merging, suggesting narrative techniques can actively shift attitudes, reduce stereotyping, and influence behavior.
Limits
The abstract provides no participant counts, demographic characteristics, or quantitative effect sizes. Findings reflect brief laboratory-based narrative exposures, leaving the persistence and generalizability of real-world behavioral changes unmeasured.